


The Program

by Minuete



Series: Advent Calendar Prompts [19]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Advent calendar prompt, Day 20, F/M, Friendship, Nutcracker, Season 1, kinda Profiler Mulder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 11:51:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17079806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minuete/pseuds/Minuete
Summary: Set sometime in Season 1. Mulder tells Scully a story behind the ballet program she found in his office.





	The Program

**Author's Note:**

> From Tumblr only-txf-fanart’s Philes Christmas Advent Calendar Prompt Day 20: nutcracker

Mulder returned to the office and found Scully standing behind the desk looking at the corkboard pinned with post-its of his various contacts and photos of UFO sightings. He stood by the door as he observed her continue to study the office by moving her attention to the shelf that held a photo of him and Samantha. She reached for something beside the photo and pulled it out to look at it. That was when he cleared his throat and greeted her, startling her in the process.

  
“Oh! Morning!” Scully responded. He could make out a faint blush forming on her cheeks. “Sorry, I was just curious to see what was on this wall…” she looked down at what he knew was a ballet program of _The Nutcracker_ he had placed on the shelf a lifetime ago. Mulder casually walked towards the desk.

  
“It’s fine, Scully. We share the office. It makes sense for you to figure out what exactly is in it.” He nodded at the program. “Go ahead and open it.” Scully opened the program to the first page. He perched himself on the corner of the desk nearest to the filing cabinet as he waited for her to read the handwritten note and the dedication for that year’s performance of _The Nutcracker_. She looked at him slightly wide-eyed, a curious yet shy expression on her face.

  
“The program you’re holding was the first and only time I received something from a victim’s family while I was working in VCS. Usually, with profiling, you don’t make contact with the victims’ families. You only focus on catching the killer. Lori Wolfram was kidnapped on her way to the ballet studio not too far from where she lived. There was a serial killer that was roaming the south side of the city, but Lori was his first victim from the northern end. It didn’t fit the MO the local law enforcement formed, so they requested a profiler to be sent in.

  
I was a cocky bastard back then, still considered the Golden Boy, when I took on this case. The victims’ bodies would be found a week after they were kidnapped, mutilated and tossed into a dumpster as if they were yesterday’s trash. I formed a new profile for the killer, pinpointing his profession to be a freelance artist based on the specks of dried paint mixed in with the blood found on all his victims. It turned out the killer was commissioned a mural project on the south end of the city nearby an urban park. He was recently commissioned a project on the north end of the city. By this time, it had been day 5 since Lori’s disappearance when the police tracked the killer’s home address and his studio. They found her barely alive at the art studio and rushed her to the ER. She didn’t make it obviously.”

Mulder reached for the program, taking it away from Scully to re-read the handwritten note from Lori’s family thanking him for all his efforts. “Lori had just turned 14. She was set to perform as Clara.”

  
He felt Scully’s hand on his back, patting him in consolation as she perched herself next to him. “You did good, Mulder. You caught him before he could stalk his next victim. Lori’s family had a chance to say goodbye to her.”

  
He nodded biting his lower lip, fighting back regret and disappointment.

  
“I liked how you said you were a cocky bastard back then.” Scully placed both of her hands on her lap. “Water cooler talk says you’re still one now.” He chuckled.

  
“Do you believe all that talk, Scully?” He looked over at her and caught the sincerity in her eyes. She smiled.

  
“No, I don’t.”

 


End file.
